Andy Murray to have stadium named after him ahead of Wimbledon as he makes first return since retiring
ANDY MURRAY will return to UK grass next Monday – as an interim stadium is named in his honour.
Next week Queen's Club in south-west London will host its first WTA event for 52 years and this will lead straight into the annual ATP men's tournament.
3
3
3
A temporary fans' seating area, which is currently being erected on the Barons Court site, will be named the ' Andy Murray Arena' in honour of the British sporting icon, a two-time Wimbledon champion.
"Andy is the greatest tennis player ever to come from this country and a giant of British sport," LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said in a statement.
"We are proud to name the arena at our tournament at the Queen's Club after him."
Murray, who recently split from Novak Djokovic's coaching group, will attend an unveiling ceremony on Monday.
This will be his first gig on the grass since the last Wimbledon Championships and since he retired.
The 38-year-old laid down his racquet following the Paris 2024 Olympics and had a farewell celebration on Wimbledon's Centre Court last July.
The Scotsman won a record five Queen's singles titles between 2009 and 2016.
And in 2019, five months after career-saving hip resurfacing surgery, he lifted the doubles titles with Feliciano Lopez.
Wimbledon are dispensing with line judges this month and will use Electronic Line Calling instead.
The system will also be in place at Queen's for both the WTA and ATP weeks.
Unlike contemporary Roger Federer, who spent a lot of his early retirement away from the sport, Murray has remained a regular face at the sport's main events.
Alongside coaching Djokovic at the Australian Open in his brief stint, the Scot joined Rafael Nadal for his retirement ceremony at the French Open last week side-by-side with the fellow "Big Four" crew.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Surrey suffer first defeat as Bears beat Durham
A 92-run opening stand followed by taking early wickets in the reply helped The Blaze end Surrey's 100% start to the women's T20 Blast at The Kelly and Georgia Elwiss got the visitors off to a lively start after being put in to bat by the leaders and they never looked back despite their innings falling Wyatt-Hodge threatened to lead an unlikely Surrey victory charge after the loss of three wickets in the opening 10 balls but her dismissal for 60 ended any hopes of a fifth successive the day's other game Mady Villiers made an unbeaten 85 for struggling Durham but was powerless to prevent the impressive Bears from cantering to a seven-wicket win in the North scorecardsWith four wins under their belt, Surrey were expected to be tested by the second-placed Blaze in the capital and so it proved as the visitors raced out of the blocks with Kelly smashing 46 from 29 balls in a 92-run opening stand with five fours and two sixes should have precipitated a run-fest for The Blaze but after Elwiss' well-constructed 61 only Josie Groves (19 not out) reached double figures as they finished on may have fancied their chances of chasing down that target but were rocked back on their heels as Bryony Smith, Kira Chathli and Paige Scholfield were all dismissed without Wyatt-Hodge's fourth half-century in five innings gave them hope of a recovery but when she was dismissed for 60 to reduce the home side to 85-5, The Blaze, led by captain Kirstie Gordon's 3-35, were able to get over the line and reduce the gap at the top to just one point. Villiers' career-best knock in vain as Bears ease home Durham suffered a fourth defeat in five outings despite a T20 career-best 85 not out from England all-rounder Mady winning the toss and choosing to bat the home side were soon in trouble when they lost former New Zealand skipper Suzie Bates to the third ball of the innings - clean bowled by England's Issy Wong without Dobson (8) quickly became Wong's second scalp but Villiers, who was dropped early in her innings, crashed 11 fours and one six while finding useful support from skipper Hollie Armitage (15) and Bess Heath (27) to keep the scoreboard ticking over and set a challenging return of 2-19 was well backed up by Hannah Baker's 2-22 from her four overs with the Bears bowling attack standing-up well to Villiers' visitors made light work of their victory target with openers Meg Austin and Davina Perrin sharing a stand of 62 from the opening six overs to set a platform for them to ease home with 10 balls to eventually perished for 49 from 31 deliveries only for wicketkeeper Nat Wraith to take the Bears to the brink of victory with her 56 containing seven fours before she became Villiers' sole victim with the ball."I don't think we should go away from how well Mady (Villiers) played first half - it was a great innings and if you're doing things like that, you shouldn't be losing games of cricket," said Durham head coach Dani Bears remain in third place while Durham are second from bottom. Thursday fixture Chelmsford: Essex v HampshirePlay starts 14:30 BST
The Sun
13 minutes ago
- The Sun
Love Island fans spot clue islander is ‘faking' claim he has never shared a bed with a girl
LOVE Island fans think they have spotted a HUGE clue that one Islander is lying about his claims that he has never shared a bed with a girl. Viewers of the ITV2 dating series were left stunned when Tommy Bradley admitted he had never stayed in a bed overnight with a girl before. 3 3 He made the confession as he told his villa partner Megan Clarke that she would be his first experience of sharing a bed with someone overnight. However, his claims have now been called into question by baffled fans after another telltale comment. During tonight's episode, Tommy referenced how he had previously been in a relationship. It left many fans scratching their heads as they tried to work out how he had been in a relationship but had failed to stay overnight with a girl. Pouring water on his claims, one fan said on X: "So how's Tommy been in a relationship but said he's never shared a bed with a girl?.." As another penned: "How has Tommy had a relationship and never slept in bed with a girl ??" In yesterday's episode, Tommy left Megan stunned with his confession. Whilst he appeared to acknowledge that he had slept with people in the past, he told her that she would be his first time experiencing staying overnight with a girl. Tommy said to her: "I've never spent the night with a girl!" Megan said back in surprise: "And you are here now?" Love Island cast realise two islanders who aren't coupled have secretly gone to the Hideaway Tommy replied: "I've never slept in bed with a girl, overnight. You will be the first!" Megan told him that she would be "honoured" to be his first. It led one girl to remark that Megan would be taking Tommy's "cuddle virginity". However, many viewers were left convinced he was lying as the were left stunned to believe the TV hunk had never stayed with someone overnight. One unsure fan wrote online: "I think Tommy is lying about never being in bed with a girl." As another added: "Tommy is lying [that] he hasnt slept overnight with a girl." A third then quipped: "Does anyone else think it's a red flag that Tommy hasn't spent the night with a girl? Cause is he sleeping with them then going straight home afterwards?" 3
The Sun
13 minutes ago
- The Sun
I was fat-shamed for being a curvy PT – insecure haters say I have zero muscles and I'm unfit, I love proving them wrong
A PERSONAL trainer has hit back at hateful trolls who branded her "unfit with zero muscles" - and proved just how strong she is. Eilish Toal, 29, runs SHE Coaching - which stands for stronger, healthier and empowered - in Glasgow and has 42 clients on her books. 5 5 The midsize fitness fanatic can deadlift 100kg, does burpees for fun and has completed three gruelling Hyrox competitions. But she admits it's "easy to get imposter syndrome" when she reflects on her thriving role as a PT. She told Fabulous: "I was really worried about how other personal trainers were going to perceive me for such a long time. "But I think it's got to a point where I know the value that I'm bringing. I know what I'm doing for girls, so I think it's absolutely incredible. "There's a lot of girls who have never been bigger, which is fine, but obviously until you've lived in a bigger body, it is kind of impossible to know how it moves, if that makes sense." Eilish, from Glasgow, was always the "bigger kid" in class as a youngster and was in age 10 clothing by the time she was seven-years-old. Fast forward to her first communion in primary school and she had to wear an adult's size 10. She said: "Then I went to high school, played basketball, but I was still bigger. "I think I pushed friends away, if a guy ever said they liked me, I was absolutely not believing that, and I just constantly put myself down." She then found herself in a vicious binge eating cycle until she was 25 and decided to overhaul her lifestyle. The former radiographer started her health journey while she still worked for the NHS. She admits that she 'fell into pretty terrible habits' during lockdown and decided to throw herself into her love for the gym instead. 'I love working with people and I decided to become a personal trainer", she said. "I decided that at my heaviest weight. I thought I have always wanted to do this and I'm not going to let it [my weight] hold me back. 'So I lost some weight over the next year and then I finally finished the PT course in January 2023.' She's seen huge success in her job so far, using her own previous struggles and curvier figure to support her clients with more than just hip thrusts. But she admits there is still a stigma around bigger people in gyms. She said: "They don't feel like they're welcome. I think bigger people do get treated differently than folk in smaller bodies. "People really need to widen their thoughts and realise that there are people who just don't feel comfortable in the gym." Troll takedown And people on social media can be just as narrow-minded about fitness. Eilish was recently hit with a cruel message under one of her workout videos, which read: "Girl you have zero muscle, look v unfit, overweight. Personal trainers should be neither of these things, it's ridiculous." But she expertly clapped back at the "insecure" troll and educated them on the true meaning of being fit. 5 5 In a video addressing the hater, she said: "Gal, I do not know what you're so deeply unhappy about, but no one is that mean and nasty without having some sort of insecurity. "Overweight? Yes, I can agree with that, but no muscle and very unfit. I Absolutely cannot. "I implore you, please come and train with me for a day because I can assure you it's not f***ing easy. "I could take the easy way out, but I love training hard. I've completed two Hyrox competitions at the men's weights, Hyrox doubles, and I've completed a solo Hyrox. I can run and I can lift some fairly heavy s***. "Again, am I the strongest person in the world? No. I am certainly not the leanest, but I certainly am NOT unfit. "In a world of girls supporting girls, this is absolutely gutting to see and I cannot believe the hate that's coming from you. "I've worked hard at bettering myself for years and this is why I'm a good coach. "And this is why people gravitate towards me because I am NOT the usual personal trainer. I will completely agree with that. However, that does not make me a bad personal trainer. "I do have muscle, I do have strength, and I do have fitness and I show people that they can have that too." Eilish's video quickly racked up 69,000 views on her TikTok page (@eilish_shecoaching) with people applauding her "perfect response". Gym support And many nervous gymgoers have insisted she would be the dream personal trainer to work with. One said: "Honestly I wish there is more PTs that represented what the majority of females look like! You look incredible." "I would be more inclined to go to this woman for personal training, also serving body", wrote a second. A third agreed: "The way I would feel SO comfortable knowing I was working with someone who has felt things I've felt and struggled in ways I have." A fourth chimed in: "You'd be my number 1 pick if I could afford a PT. Your body looks like something I would aim to achieve, others are so unrealistic for me." A fifth pointed out: "Being fit is a testable measure, 'looking fit' is a bs beauty standard that is constantly changing. You're killing it girl and you're helping me try and get back into fitness." And a sixth echoed: "Being fit and looking fit can be two totally different things! You are absolutely smashing it." 5 The support has left modest Eilish overwhelmed - but has motivated her to help as many women as possible build healthier habits and their self-confidence. She said: "The pressure on people is massive, so if I can help, if I can show someone, one person, that they don't have to be that much under pressure, I'm more than happy to. "A lot of my clients are wanting to lose weight, but we're looking at sustainable and long-term ways of doing that, and still living your life. It's not a fad, it's general lifestyle changes. "It's all about knowing you deserve better, and changing that narrative. It's small steps, it's little bits at a time, but it makes such a difference. "And for me, it's celebrating their wins. Everyone's wins are different. So for someone it might be 'I've not binged this week' and that is absolutely incredible. "It's about how you feel, it's not just 'have you lost weight'." She continued: "Everyone's got different goals. Not everyone trains to look smaller or be smaller. "I love the fact that I'm not small and lean, and I can still look at myself, and find love. It's total self-acceptance. "Traditionally, personal training has always been to look a certain way, but it's not everyone's goal. "I want to be the change in the industry and I want to be able to help as many women as I possibly can, and men. Men suffer as well. "I'm actually just really excited to see what the rest of the year brings, because I hope this is the start of the big girl fights back, the Big Girl Takeover. That's what we're going for."
